Beer Alert- New Holiday Ales, Lambic Blends And Brut IPA’s

With the winter holidays nearing, breweries are cranking out a variety cold-weather offerings, some traditional and other wildly not…And we’ve five heady craft beer directions that you may need to chase down.

Something Cheerful For The Holidays (Shiner, TX) – Holiday traditions can come in all shapes and sizes and the Spoetzl Brewery’s (home to the entire Shiner family of beers) uber-interesting holiday offering comes with three different retro-cool labels. A Texas twist on a beloved old-world style, Shiner Holiday Cheer is a 5.4% ABV Dunkelweizen (Dark Wheat Ale) brewed with pecans and peaches.

Elevation Returns An Award Winner! (Poncha Springs, CO) – For the third year in a row the Elevation Beer Company is returning the first beer they ever kettle-soured. Elevation Acide (the French translation for sour) is a 4% ABV Amarillo dry-hopped Sour Saison with orange citrus flavors and just the right touch of tartness.

A High Octane Stocking Stuffer (Denver, CO) – On December 8th, River North is unveiling what the brewery calls its “most ambitious beer to date,” and we gotta admit that’s saying something. A true double-strength version of the brewery’s barrel-aged Belgian-style imperial stout, River North Barrel Aged Double Avarice is a massive 11.5% ABV exotic that was aged in in 100% Colorado bourbon barrels.

Krieky Bones Bounces Back (Buellton, CA) – Firestone Walker’s Barrelworks is releasing its latest batch of a beer that was originally crafted to celebrate David Walker’s 50th birthday. Made with fresh Michigan-grown cherries and available starting this week in limited draft and 375-ml bottle formats, Krieky Bones Batch No. 5 is a classic Kriek Lambic-style beer with nimble pie crust flavors of and a noble touch of funk.

New Year’s Perfect (Ft Collins, CO) – New Belgium has just released the latest from its Next Up Series that’s the perfect alternative to champagne on New Year’s Eve. Inspired by partner Dick Cantwell’s foray into Brut IPAs at sister brewery Magnolia Brewing in San Francisco, New Belgium’s Brut IPA is a 6.7% ABV bright and bubbly India Pale Ale with white grape and tropical aromatics that quickly give way to a dry and refreshing finish.